Volunteers needed to help in planning oil spill responses (Editorial)

THE NATIONAL Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is looking for a few good men and women.

A member of a BP cleanup crew puts a tar patty into a collection bucket on Horn Island in this Jan. 7, 2011, photo. (MICHAEL DUMAS/Press-Register)

Actually, make that a lot of good men and women. The agency’s scientists need 15,000 people in addition to the 25,000 who’ve already agreed to help them.

People who respond to their plea for help will be providing an important service to the region. Scientists and political leaders hope to use the study results to plan potential responses to future oil spills.

The scientists are conducting a broad, 10-year look at people who helped clean up after the BP oil spill in April 2010. They want to know whether those folks are experiencing more respiratory, neurological, blood or mental health effects than a “control” group of people who were not involved in the cleanup.

Volunteers need to be at least 21 years old. They may have worked for just a few hours or for several months after the oil spill; and their jobs might’ve ranged from collecting oily boom to scooping tar balls out of the sand to serving meals to crew members — “anything to do with cleaning up the spill,” said a spokesman for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

What’s in it for the volunteers, besides pride in helping the community by sharing their time and information? For starters, although some people may only take a periodic telephone survey, others will be asked to participate in in-home interviews and health exams, for which they will receive $50 gift cards. In addition, they’ll be able to obtain copies of their personal test results.

Scientists say it’s too early to know whether people are suffering from any health problems directly related to exposure to oil and dispersants. With coastal residents’ help, however, they should have some answers in the coming years.

To participate in the study, people can call a toll-free number, 855-644-4853, or visit the study website at www.nihgulfstudy.org.